Cowgirl Up!
by MsMxAnna
Summary: AU Finchel: This wasn't how she expected her summer to be. The selfish and spoiled actress from New York never thought that spending her summer on a horse farm in Texas with her cousin Puck would be a good idea. And she would have never guessed that she would fall for someone like Finn Hudson. But even Rachel can be wrong sometimes.
1. Unexpected summer plans

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of its characters.**

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**Summary: AU Finchel. When summer starts Rachel's happily looking forward to spend her summer singing and dancing. But her fathers have something else in mind. They plan on sending her to a horse farm in Texas where her cousin Noah lives. She absoloutly despises the idea until the day she arrives to the farm and she meet her cousins handsome, adorable and just wonderful best friend; Finn Hudson. Based on Finchel prompt.**

**Rated M for language and possible smut **

**I want to dedicate this to my fanfiction-friend, colors. flash. and. spin , who's my beta. Thank you for being so nice to me and correcting all my spelling mistakes! :)**

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**Cowgirl Up!**  
Chapter 1: Unexpected Summer-Plans

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Rachel Berry is what many would call a Broadway-baby. Not only has she lived in New York her whole life in the same apartment in Brooklyn, she's been on the stage since she was eight, her first role was as Young Cosette in Les Mis. Her fathers got her to take singing and dance lessons at a very young age. So early that she won her first dance competition when she was eight months old, as you can see she's the epitome of perfection in many people's eyes.

Rachel is happy with her life. That's at least what she tells herself. She's seventeen (she's turning eighteen in December) and famous, rich and blessed with a throat made of pure gold.

The only problem is school. She's not really on the top of the food chain. Rachel knew high school would be hard. Rachel's known all over America and she's probably the most talented seventeen year old girl in New York. But she never expected it to be hard to actually, you know, make friends.

Rachel is a stubborn young woman. If she wants something, she gets it. That isn't really appreciated in school. Especially where she is. Sure it's good to be different. But Rachel has reached a new level of different.

Most people find her annoying and self centered, and most of all spoiled. Rachel would never admit it but she's actually kind of a big bitch. Her words have the effect of a slap in the face and cold shivers run down others spine when she glares. She isn't really aware of what other people think about her. In Rachel's opinion she's sure that they are staying away from her because of her talent, who wants to be around someone you can never compare too (Rachel totally respects those who agree with this notion). That she's too big of a competitor to talk to. That's not true, she's human too, if an extrordinary one at that.

Junior year passed like all the others. Her grades are great and the teachers are once again impressed. But friends, still none. She has to spend another summer all alone like always, her dads as her only company. Not that she really mind. Spending the summer alone means singing and dance practice all day long, because you can never work to hard to reach perfection.

She steps into the big apartment, escaping the glowing sun on the blue and white sky. "I'm home dads!" she calls as she removes her big black sunglasses from her face. She opens her bag and fishes up a package of gum, mint flavored- her favorite. She pops a piece into her mouth before she places her bag on the gray stone floor and pushes her stilettos off her feet. She walks from the hall into the living-room where her dads sits in the black expensive leather sofa. When they turn around to face her she sees that their usual warm eyes are filled with worry and fear. They stare at her as she enters the room. Her chocolate eyes stare back as she crosses her arms over her chest.

"I'm home." she says bitchily through her gum-chewing. "You're supposed to answer me when I say something."

Her Daddy exhales through his nose, almost like he's trying to calm down. Her Dad gently pats him on his shoulder. "We're so sorry, Doll." her Daddy says calmly. Her Dad nods without saying anything. "Good." Rachel says shortly. She's just about to turn away dramatically (that's sort of her thing) but her dads stop her. "Rachel, wait. We have to talk about something."

Rachel sighs loudly as she turns back to her fathers concerned eyes. "Well, I'm not very interested in something. Can't you guys just keep it to yourself so I can get my sheet music and practice." A fake smile lights up her face for a second before it's just memory. She's about to walk away again when her fathers call her for the second time. "No Rachel, this is important."

Rachel stops dead in her tracks. She finds herself surprised by her Dad's harsh voice. He never raises his voice against her, he's always been the parent who lets her get her way. She slowly turns around and sees that both her fathers faces have hardened. She pastes on the fake smile again. "Okay daddies. What do you want that is so important?"

Her Daddy clears his throat quietly. "Well Sweetie, we know that you are doing great in school and that your teachers love you. We're so proud of you but-"

"You know, if you two are just gonna tell me how great I am, please save it for later. My summer has already started and I need to practice." Rachel cuts off, her bitchy side taking over again. Her gum-bubble loudly pops and the popping sound blends together with her Dad's sigh.

"Please Rachel, just hear us out. We know how your situation with friends is. You are never bringing home any friends and you're never visiting anyone after school. It's not normal."

Rachel was offended by the statement. She could make friends if she want to. It's just that she has chosen to not make any. She wouldn't sacrifice her career for some silly people.

"And you've never had a boyfriend. That's definitely not normal for someone at your age."

Rachel gives the two men a cold stare. "Aren't dads supposed to be relieved when his daughter decides that she doesn't want to get married or have kids?"

Her dads looks at her with shocked and sad expressions on their faces. "What do you think?" her Daddy shouts, his arms flying around in frustration. "Of course we want you to get married. We want to walk you down the aisle on your wedding. We want grandkids we can spoil. We aren't monsters."

"But you sure act like it for not letting me practice." Rachel spits back.

Rachel's fathers looks at her calmly. "Rachel Honey, what are you planning to do this summer?" her Dad asks her in a shaky kind of voice. Rachel doesn't think for long. "I'm going to practice my singing and my dancing as always. It has to be perfect when I return to school."

Her Daddy breaths out. "That was what we expected to hear. Well, your Dad and I don't think it's healthy for you to just sit inside singing the whole summer and we think you've been in New York for too long so we have made plans for you."

Rachel's small hands clutch into small fists of anger, ready to storm out of the room. "No one makes plans for me except me, And this is my home!" she replies angrily. Her Daddy smiles, trying to remain calm. He fails. He looks like a frightened deer hiding in the bushes.

"I know Rachel but we think that this will be good for you. You need to hear the words coming out of your mouth Rachel, I'm your father and I've finally realized we've you never do anything but worry about your future career!"

Rachel rolls her brown eyes. Why would they make plans for her if they knew that there would be big consequences? Can't they just let her go and practice? "Do you remember your cousin Noah?" her Dad asks. Rachel shakes her head her hair flying behind her.

Her Dad looks her straight in the eyes as he takes his husbands hand in his. "He lives on a horse farm in Texas you know and we were thinking that-"

And he drops a bomb on her. "You should go there over the summer."

The room goes silent. You could hear a nail drop. The only sound that is made is from the cars outside the open window. Rachel's mouth is wide open from shock. Are they serious? She silently prays to the god in heaven that it's a stupid joke. "Are you fucking kidding me, because this is not funny."

Her voice was getting louder by every word and soon she's screaming out the words. Cursing is something she never does, but she can barely hold the angry words inside her that threaten to boil over. Her fathers had seen it coming. "Rachel, Baby-"

"Don't you dare baby me. I'm not your baby anymore who you just can send me where ever you want. I'm an adult, who makes her own decisions." Rachel spits to her parents. "And I decide to not go to 'middle of nowhere Texas'. I hate horses."

Her Daddy's eyes were pleading as he stands up from the sofa. "Please don't use words like that Baby-" He reaches for Rachel's shoulder but she quickly backs away like she's been burned. "Don't!." she barks out. "Leave me alone, okay."

Her father nods and looks down on the parquet floor. "Fine, but you have to promise us that you'll at least think about it." He looks up at her again and her eyes are cold. "Please?" She nods quickly and turns around for the third time, but now there is no contradictions from her fathers.

She storms up the stairs (Yeah, she lives in a apartment with two floors. She's rich!") and stomps into her room. She throws herself onto the Queen-sized bed and bury her head into the pillow. She finally lets her angry tears she's been keeping inside of her flow free down her cheeks. What has she done to deserve this? She's always been a good girl. She's always done with her homework in time and she's nice to her parents (Well, she's always bossing them around but they probably don't mind).

She lies with her face deep into her pillow for a minute or two before she looks up again, in need of oxygen. She inspects her light pink pillow. Mascara has dripped down from her eyes onto the soft material and made black marks.

Rachel hoped before that her daddies was joking. But she has realized that they're not.

Life sucks right now. She's not going to practice her singing or dancing all summer. She's ruined her pillow. And worst of all; she's going to a horse farm in Texas. Because if there's one thing she can't do it's say no to her fathers. Yes, she may be bossy but she always does what they say, even though she thinks they've gone too far this time.

Yeah, life really sucks right now.

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**A/N: I'm finally back to writing. It feels like forever. I've been on different vacations this past weeks and haven't been able to write anything. I hope I will be able to write more now.**

**Do you want me to continue? I hope this will turn out good. I have so many ideas!**

**Thank you so much for reading, it means so much to me. Please review, it always makes me so happy to know that someone's reading!**


	2. So we meet again

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of its characters.**

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**Summary: AU Finchel. This wasn't how she expected her summer to be. The selfish and spoiled actress from New York never thought that spending her summer on a horse farm in Texas with her cousin Noah would be a good idea. And she would have never guessed that she would fall for someone like Finn Hudson. But even Rachel can be wrong sometimes. Based on Finchel prompt.**

**Rated M for language and possible smut.**

**And a BIG thank you to colors .flash .and .spin who's my beta and fanfiction friend!  
**

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**Cowgirl Up!  
**Chapter 2: So we meet again

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Rachel hate airplanes. They are big and loud and she is always worried about getting lice or some disease from the seats. Plus, the food taste like mixed cardboard and sand. First class is okay, even good actually but she can't stand the other classes.

But airplanes are something you'll have to live with if you are a star, because if there is something Rachel despise more than flights it's trains. She has gone by train once, and she's never doing it again. Things are even more gross there than on the planes (she didn't think that was possible).

So exactly a week after her little discussion with her dads Rachel is sitting in a plane (not private, nor in first class) humming to herself with her headphones carefully placed over her flowing raven colored hair. The West Side Story soundtrack is streaming into her ears on low volume.

West Side Story has a special place in Rachel's heart. It's always been a dream of hers to play Maria on Broadway. She played the role of Maria in her sophomore year of high school, but it's not the same thing (even though she was incredible - as always, and got a standing ovation).

The six hour flight from New York to Texas was slow but went by. It was five in the afternoon when the plane lands at the airport. She fishes up her iPhone from her big purse she's been having beside her the entire flight and turns off the music. She removes her headphones and wires the cable around the phone before she puts the two items in her purse.

Rachel stands up and smooth out her cute, short and strapless white summer dress that shows off her long beautiful legs. She grabs her purse and throw it up on her bare shoulder. She picks up her soft pink cardigan from the empty seat beside her (Her fathers at least gave her some space to move) and hangs it over her bag. She blends in with the crowd that is pushing to get out from the big metal bird.

When she has escaped from the plane she quickly walks towards the passport control, her high white wedges clamp against the hard floor. Her dress is beautifully flowing around her thighs before she stops in the line to the control and it slowly lies down against her legs. She eyes the line and as she sees it she hope that it won't take too long to get through it.

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Soon enough when she's gotten through the passport control and the safety control it's finally time to get her luggage. She's catches her rolling bag with all her cloths and other important things she has to have with her before she starts the walk towards the double-doors that lead her to the parking lot.

As Rachel comes out of the airport she spots her aunt Jennie's red worn-out Volvo in the big parking lot. She sees her aunt's rapid waving and start walking towards the old car with her luggage rolling behind her.

Rachel throws all her luggage in the trunk (except for her purse) and walk around the small car to reach the door to the passenger seat.

The car is empty besides Jennie. Rachel climbs inside the passenger seat and buckles her seat-belt. She set her purse down onto the floor of the car, right in front of her feet. Her aunt hasn't said a word to Rachel, which actually don't surprise her at all.

Her fathers had a long monologue about all the family members she might meet on her little trip. They told her that her aunt on her Dad's side; Jennie, is a small ball of energy. She burns for her horses and her farm and she really loves what she is doing. She's working as a riding instructor and she's making very good money on it. Sure, she's not as rich as Rachel's fathers but she's not poor. Absolutely not. But she doesn't really talk a lot. She often keeps her words to herself and does much work by herself, not even leaving a hint about asking for help. "She hasn't always been like that," her Dad told her. "Something happened to her, it was after Noah was born. Nobody really knows what, but I suspect it has something to do with that horrible divorce she went through ten years ago."

Rachel inspects her aunt curiously. Rachel knows that she's Jewish just like her. Jennie is tiny and a little skinny, with long hazel brown hair that is collected in a high ponytail. Her eyes are quite small but framed in by long and black lashes. They are colored in a beautiful deep green color with small dips of brown in them. Her nose is spotted with cute freckles that makes her look younger than she really is, but the small wrinkles in the corner of her eyes defines that she has almost reached the age of fifty.

Rachel gives her aunt a small smile. "Hi, I am Rachel Berry and I will be living with you and your family for the next few months." she says, trying really hard (actually) to sound genuinely happy. She stretches out her small hand for the older woman to shake.

Jennie smiles and grip Rachel's hand in a firm handshake. "It's so nice meeting you again Rachel." she gives Rachel's hand a light squeeze before she let go of it. "You've grown so much."

Rachel nods and gives her a short 'thank you' before she turn her head so she faces the glass-window to the outside. Her aunt starts the engine and the red Volvo growls to life. She backs out from the parking spot she parked into and onto the big road.

The drive to the farm was rather quiet (if you don't count all the noise the car is making). Jennie soon drives off the highway into a small gravel road. It's surrounded with high pine trees. She can see some blue spots in all the green, which she suspects is blueberries.

They drive for twenty minutes right into nowhere with only trees to see. Rachel really hopes that her aunt and cousin doesn't live in a little cottage made of tree trunks or something like that. If they do, they probably won't have any warm water. Or worse, no Internet.

But five minutes later they drive out on big open grass fields with a nice white fence around. Summer flowers are springing up in the fresh green grass and giving it some color. She can see a couple of horses on the field eating peacefully, together with a girl; not older than ten that is picking up some flowers and making a beautiful bouquet.

Only a 100 meters forward Jennie makes a right turn and drives into a small gravel parking lot. The small stones mash together with the rubber wheel. Rachel grabs her purse from the floor and steps out of the small car. She takes a deep breath and fills her lungs with fresh air. She looks up at the house she hasn't given a glance. Rachel's big eyes gets even bigger when they widen.

The house is colored in a warm brown color. It's quite big, but absolutely not too big. The front door is cream white with beautiful flower patterns increased in the wood. The windows are colored in the same paint as the door with flower patterns in the corners. Green plants are placed beside the door and it's giving the place a rather cozy look. There's also a big horse stable beside the house, painted in the same brown color. Doors and windows are colored cream white, and green plants are placed outside the wooden double-doors. There's also a nice and big outdoor sand arena just behind the stable. The bright white fence around it makes it look professional and neat.

Rachel hears how Jennie close and locks the car behind her. Jennie approaches her from behind with steady footsteps. She is soon standing beside Rachel with actress's rolling luggage in her hands. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Jennie says to break the peaceful silence that was created when she came. Rachel nods genuinely, still with her eyes on the buildings. It feels like she's been here before, but she can't put her finger on why.

"You know, you were here every summer until your seventh birthday" Jennie says dreamily. Okay, problem solved, Rachel has been here before. "That year you got your first call-back, as the role of Young Cosette in Les Mis if I remember right. You had to leave early that year and you were so sad and so happy at the same time. Mostly happy of course but you still didn't want to leave Noah, me and the horses. But you left and your dads and I were so proud of you. Noah and I got tickets for your first performance on the opening night and we flew all the way to New York to see you. All the money I spent on it was really worth it because you shone as bright as the stars in the sky." A small smile lightens up Jennie's pretty face at the scene that was played so many years ago. Rachel is a bit overwhelmed from what her aunt is saying. Jennie's words bring out quick and hazy memories from her summers here she must've forgotten after all these years.

"After that you never came here anymore. You were too busy with Broadway and, well your golden life so you never made it here. You probably don't remember anything about this place so I'm going to ask Noah to show you around. But I let you pack up first." She gives Rachel her luggage and pats her lightly on the arm. "Your room is just up the stairs and the first door to the left."

Jennie straightens up her ponytail and begins to walk towards the stable. Rachel blinks a few times, like she's just woken up from a dream. She takes a deep breath through her nose and the awful smell that didn't reach her before surely did now. The smell of summer mixed with horse and its dump may smell great to horse people, but Rachel is not a cowgirl (well, horse girl).

Rachel isn't really a fan of taking care of animals. The truth is that she actually loves animals but not when they are peeing and pooping all around her room, that was why her poor little hamster Patti (like Patti LuPone of course) flew through her bedroom window a day in September. She really hates to harm animals but her nine year old self was stupid and had not been learned that animals with no wings cannot fly. Rachel didn't actually want anything bad to happen with Patty, she was just so tired of her. When her daddies found the small hamster outside her window they set up a funeral for Patty and Rachel cried and apologized for any pain she could've caused the animal when its heart was beating. After that day she vowed to never own an animal again.

The young actress walks towards the house she'll be living in during her summer. Her rolling luggage is scraping against the hard stones, making loud noises and small clouds of gray dust around her feet.

She stops when she sees a boy come out from the stable together with Jennie. He is tall - very tall actually, but his face is cute with boyish features that is making him look young. He can't be older than her, maybe a year older. His hair is dark brown and straws are sticking out from it in different directions. His eyes are quite small and dark whiskey colored. He is wearing a washed out blue T-Shirt that is tucked into his dark saggy jeans that is a little bit torn on the left knee. This is the first boy Rachel actually think is sort of cute. When he smiles at Jennie she can see cute dimples form on his cheeks.

The boy gently shakes Jennie's hand before he turn his head towards Rachel. He makes a small salute with two fingers before he turns to her aunt again, just to say goodbye, she guesses, because he walks away seconds later.

Rachel finally reaches the big house. She opens the door and slowly steps in. The hall is small, with a yellow wallpaper with flower patterns on the walls. She can see right into the big and open living room. A few coat hooks is glued to the wall to her left, and underneath is a big shoe rack where mostly dirty rubber boots and sneakers are placed. On the other wall there is four pictures hanging in a nice square. Both of her cousins have a picture in a frame each, Noah in one and his ten year old sister Sarah in one. There is also a picture of the horses that Jennie own and two children in one of the frames. It's a very beautiful picture. Noah; maybe five years old is sitting on a beautiful night black horse with a thin white blaze and black mane. There is also this other girl with raven brown hair and chocolate eyes, suspiciously alike her. She's also around five and is standing beside a small gray horse. The horse has a beautiful heart shaped mark on its forehead that is colored in white. The brown eyed girl's fingers on her right hand is laced into the horse's dark gray mane meanwhile the other hand is resting on the animal's neck.

"Yes, that's you if you're wondering." A man's voice said behind her. Rachel freezes for a second on the hard stone floor before she spin around to face a boy in her age. His face looks extremely familiar to Rachel, like he's been in a dream of hers. He also looks a lot like the five year old boy in the picture on the wall. Except that the little boy in the frame didn't have his hair cut into a Mohawk.

"We were only five when my mom took that picture." the boy with the Mohawk continues. "You really loved it here, especially the horses. You were really attached to that gray horse in the picture; Casanova. He was like your second best friend, you told him anything and everything. But you probably don't remember anything of that." Rachel shakes her head no, looking into the boy's brown eyes. The boy smiles a little before he stretch out his hand for a handshake.

"Then you probably don't remember me either. I'm Noah Puckerman, but everyone calls me Puck. Well, except for my mom."

Rachel looks at his dirty hand that is stretched towards her with an expression that lean towards something near disgust. No way she's going to shake his hand. "I'm Rachel Berry as you probably know, because, well I'm a big star. And just because I am such a phenomena, you get the job to carry my bag up the stairs. But wash your hands first." She is aware of that she sounds like a bitchy girl that always get what she wants but she's so tired of hearing about how it was when she was little, because she's not little anymore. She has changed. And in her eyes, it's a good change. Rachel walks up the stairs meanwhile Puck is standing downstairs with her bags. She hears how he is screaming to her that 'he won't carry her fucking bags', but she doesn't care. They may have been best friends in the past, but she sure won't spend time with a dirty-handed guy with a silly nickname and a Mohawk.

Rachel slowly opens the door to her room and peers into it. The room is small compared to her room in the apartment in New York. The walls are painted in a light shade of green that is lightening up the room. A bed is placed in one of the corners of the room, the sheets deep red color is not fitting in with the color of the wall. The bed is small, only one person who's quite tiny can fit into it. That boy she saw with Jennie before probably wouldn't fit.

There is also a light wooden desk standing against the green wall. The sun is shining in through the barely open window and making funny shadows on the desk. The desk is empty besides a couple of pencils placed in a pink cup with the text 'I love Texas' printed onto it. In Rachel's option, the cup is lying, but she doesn't hate it here actually. Not as much as she thought she would at least.

When Rachel sees the closet she'll have her clothes in she begins to wonder. How the hell is she going to fit all of her clothes in there? The closest black and white is pretty tall but not as wide. Well, she can always keep some clothes in the bag.

She hears how her cousin is dragging her heavy bag up the stairs. He's soon entering her room with an angry expression across his face. He drops her luggage in front of her bare feet and looks at her before speaking.  
"What the fuck do you carry around in this thing?" he asks as his hand makes a gesture towards her bag. "Bricks?"

Rachel purses her lips into an annoyed half-smile. "Funny Noah, funny." She moves her luggage in front of the closet before turning back to Puck. "Actually no, only clothes and shoes. They shouldn't be that heavy. Are you sure you're just not weak?"

Puck looks offended by Rachel's words. "Are you seriously asking me that? Have you seen my guns?" he asks, also his voice is stained with annoyance. He rolls up his shirt to show Rachel his muscular arm but Rachel isn't paying any attention to him at all, since she's started packing up all her clothes. Puck groans quietly before he turns around and walks out the door.

Rachel has really changed. The nice and caring girl that was his friend is not what he sees anymore. He sees a girl who lost her childhood to her job and now believes in that only the selfish and non-caring people win and get their dream life. But that's not true, and that's what she's here to realize. Her fathers finally saw the light, that she needs people who cares about her and is ready support her except for them. She has to let her wall of selfishness drop and just live life like she did before, so she can show the world the real Rachel Berry.


	3. First Day

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of its characters.**

**Summary: AU Finchel. This wasn't how she expected her summer to be. The selfish and spoiled actress from New York never thought that spending her summer on a horse farm in Texas with her cousin Noah would be a good idea. And she would have never guessed that she would fall for someone like Finn Hudson. But even Rachel can be wrong sometimes. Based off Finchel prompt.**

**Rated M for language and possible smut.**

**All mistakes are mine! Enjoy!  
**

**A/N1: I really want to say thank you to everyone who reads and reviews! It really means a lot to me. **

**Also if anyone who reads this story also reads Mission: McKinley High and wonders what happened to it, don't worry. Right at this moment I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, I have such a horrible writers block, but I know that it'll soon let go and I'll start writing again.  
**

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**Cowgirl Up!  
**Chapter 3: First day

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"It smells awful in here." Rachel whines as she and Puck walks down the aisle of the stable. The five horses are snorting and stomping in their stalls, waiting for their morning oat. Rachel has no idea how Puck could get her up at seven in the morning when it's summer, but unfortunately he did. And he got her to borrow his mom's old breeches that luckily fits her because obviously she can't wear skirts or dresses when you're with horses. If that's a rule, it's stupid. Her legs just doesn't look as good in pants.

"Don't worry cuz, you will soon like it." Puck responds as they reach their destination; the end of the corridor where all the tools that is needed to take care of a horse is. She quietly mumbles 'Yeah right' under her breath as her cousin bows down and begins to fill a shiny red plastic bucket with oat. He stands up straight and to her surprise shoves the bucket in her arms. "Feed the horses, okay? They shall have one scoop each of the oat." He gently pats her on the shoulder before he before he walks past her and goes back the way they came. Rachel didn't get the chance to say anything. She groans loudly as she turns around to do her work, the faster you begin the faster you'll get done, right?

Rachel stands in front of the first stall. There is a sign beside the stall-door, and the text is written in a shiny gold color. The sign says '_Zoey_' so she simply guesses that that's the name of the horse. The chestnut colored horse is peering its head outside of it and is hungrily looking at the bucket in her hands. She shakes the oat-filled bucket a little so its contents rustles inside. Zoey's ears eagerly pricks at the sound and her deep black eyes is glimmering in the incoming light of the sun.

Rachel slowly opens the stall door, her last wish is getting kicked or bitten. But to Rachel's gratitude Zoey nicely stands still. Rachel's rubber boots mashes together with the hay that is lying on the floor of Zoey's stall and makes a crunching sound. She picks up the scoop that is lying with the oat and quickly give Zoey her food. The horse dives in on the oat the second it touches the crib so only the ears are visible. Rachel softly scratches Zoey on her head before she leaves the box to feed the other horses.

She walks across the aisle to the next stall and she is greeted by another horse; Cello that is also staring at the oat that is scrambling in the bucket. Rachel rolls her eyes a little. How hungry can a horse be?

Rachel grips the metal handle and tries to pull it to the side. It doesn't move. Rachel pulls a little harder but still no success. Rachel groans and puts down the bucket on the floor. She confidently grabs the handle with both of her small hands and tries to pull the stall door open with all her force. She believes she can feel it moving when a stranger's voice is heard behind her.

"Need some help?"

Rachel jumps a little by surprise and quickly turns around. It's the boy who Jennie talked to yesterday, the tall one. He stands in front of her with his hands dug into the pockets of his jeans and a cute loop-sided smile plastered on his boyish face. Rachel glares at him and places her hands on her hips. "No, absolutely not."

He chuckles a little and ruffs his hand through his brown hair. "It sure does look like it." he answers.

The small actress presses her lips together as she looks into his beautiful whiskey colored eyes. "I may be small but I am strong. Don't judge me."

He raises his hands over his head, showing her that he surrenders. "I'm sorry Tiny, but I'd really like to see you open that." he says, pointing to the stall door. Rachel let go of her hips and slowly surrounds the handle with her fingers. She'll show that little jerk a little lesson. Nobody messes with Rachel Berry. Doesn't he know who she is?

Rachel takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. She can feel the tall guy's presence behind her. That gives her strength. She'll show that boy that she's fully capable of pulling up a damn door. She starts to pull with all her might. But the door doesn't move an inch. She can hear a low chuckle behind her and Rachel turns around. Rachel looks up into his eyes. "Okay Big Guy, you try." she says and smirks. He licks his lips and grabs the metal handle. He smiles a little before he opens it with ease. The the hinges are making a squeaky noise that's making the horse in the stall look up.

The guy let go of the handle and picks up the bucket that she placed on the ground before. He nicely holds it in front of her to take it and she quickly snatches the red item out of his hands. Without saying a word to him she steps into the stall. She quickly feeds the black horse with one scoop of the oat and then leaves the stall. The guy that opened the stall door is still standing behind her and looking at her.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" she says, annoyance staining her voice. He smirks and shakes his head. "Nope. I'm waiting for Jennie but I assume I'm a bit early."

Rachel opens the stall door to a horse named Flicka. She is a beauty actually. She is completely black except for a star shaped white mark on her forehead. Her mane is long and shiny and the forelock is softly hanging over her right eye.

Flicka's ears pricks when she sees the brown haired guy, just like Zoey's did when she saw the food. He steps forward and literally pushes Rachel away from the stall door. Rachel is just about to yell at him that he can't do that to her when she sees how the tall guy looks at Flicka. His eyes are filled with love as he carefully strokes her head . It actually makes Rachel smile a little. "Is she yours?" she asks. He nods firmly, still looking at the black horse.

"Yes. She's been mine for six years now, and I love her more than anything." he says as he digs up some up a few shriveled carrot pennies from his jean pocket and gives them to Flicka who happily accepts them. "I had it tough when my dad died, but I had her. She gave me comfort and I could tell her anything. When we moved here after my dad's death I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep her, because my mom and I don't own a stable. But we were lucky that Jennie let Flicka live here if I help her taking care of the other horses and keep it clean in here."

Rachel couldn't help but be a little moved by his story. "I'm sorry." she whispers as she gives him a genuine smile. "About your dad."

The guy shot a small smile back as Flicka softly puffs him on the shoulder with her black muzzle, telling him that she want more of those carrot pennies. He chuckles and picks up the remaining carrot pieces. He gives her the carrot pennies as he quietly whispers kind words to his horse. Rachel is starting to feel a little awkward just standing there so she clears her throat to gain his attention.

"I should probably get back to work." she informs and he nods. Her grip tightens around the buckets plastic handle and slowly turns away from the guy and the horse. But just when she is about to step into another stall when she hear a voice call behind her.

"Hey Tiny, what's your name?" the tall guy asks. Rachel smiles and turns around again to see his face.

"Rachel." she calls back. She sees him smile. "What's yours?"

"Finn." he answers before he steps into Flicka's stall and quietly closes the stall door behind him. Rachel smiles a little as she steps into the hay that is lying beneath her. She scoops up the food to the horse who's stall she's in and her smile grows a little wider.

"Finn", she thinks. "What a nice name."

* * *

"So, how was your first day on the farm, Rachel?" Jennie asks her niece as they are peacefully sitting around the dinner table. Rachel shrugs as she picks in her salad with her fork. "Good, I guess." she says and puts some salad in her mouth.

Jennie rests her arms on the table as she smiles at Rachel. "That's great." she says and pushes her empty plate away from her. "I have a proposition to make." she continues eagerly. "You worked so good today so what do you say about me giving you a riding lesson tomorrow. If you continue to work as good as you did today, you might get more in the future." she gives Rachel a beaming smile. "What do you say?"

Rachel bits her underlip as she continues poking in her food. She would never admit it but horses actually scares her a little bit. They are so big and they can bite you really hard. But the face that her aunt is making; a face that is practically shining with happiness is hard to resist. Her aunt is always so nice to Rachel, even when she's bitchy. So maybe she can be nice back and let Jennie teach her a thing or two.

"Sure, why not?" she says, thanking her acting skills for not sounding insecure and scared. Jennie's smile grows wider and stands up. "Great. The lesson will start at twelve o'clock tomorrow." Jennie begins to collect all the empty plates, even Rachel's even though she hasn't eaten everything. "Now my friends, I have to start with the dishes."

Rachel stands up quickly and leaves the room without another word. She walks up the stairs and enters her room. The grassy green color on the wall seems too happy for her mood so she directs her gaze towards the dark red bed instead.

Riding? That is the last thing Rachel thought she would do in her life. She's not used to handling things like animals or things like that. The only thing she's good at is singing.

Rachel falls down with a load thud on the bed. She covers her eyes with her hands and let out a long deep sigh.

She is definitely not looking forward to tomorrow.

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**A/N2: Sorry for the extreme lack of updates. I have been busy and stuff and I just couldn't find the time to write on this story. But I hope you guys enjoyed it anyways! **

**Please review! You know you want to!  
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**Until next time!  
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	4. Trying the Cowgirl style

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of its characters.**

**Summary: AU Finchel. This wasn't how she expected her summer to be. The selfish and spoiled actress from New York never thought that spending her summer on a horse farm in Texas with her cousin Puck would be a good idea. And she would have never guessed that she would fall for someone like Finn Hudson. But even Rachel can be wrong sometimes. Based off Finchel prompt.**

**Rated M for language and possible smut.**

**A/N1: All mistakes are mine! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Cowgirl Up!  
**Chapter 4: Trying the Cowgirl-style

* * *

To be totally honest, Rachel is terrified, and that's not a common feeling for her. She has always been a confident young woman, maybe too confident sometimes. It's not unusual that she throws her second place trophy's in a wall or a trash can, because a second place trophy is a sign of failure to her.

And she's now scared to possibly death because of the silly little thing called a horse. It had been kind of cool yesterday when she fed them but it's not the same thing. Taking care of a horse is fine, but sitting on it and actually ride is a different story.

So she is now standing outside the stable, pressed into a rather uncomfortable pair of riding breeches, waiting for Jennie to show up so she can get this over with. She is shifting her weight from the right foot to the left and then back again as she plays with her long braid.

She hears the stall door open with a loud squeak and Rachel sighs out a 'finally' as she turns to the person that is standing in the stall entrance. But the person isn't the one she expected. No, it is that boy Finn who works for Jennie who she met briefly yesterday in the stable.

Rachel studies him a little. He is dressed the same way he was yesterday; a long sleeved shirt with square pattern. The sleeves are roughly rolled up to his elbows and makes him look even more like a cowboy than he already does. His jeans are saggy and washed so many times that their color has begun to fade from black to a dark gray color. Only this time he also wears this brown cowboy hat that covers his brown hair.

He smiles at her, and he would probably wave if it weren't for that he holds two horses, one in each hand. His hands are tightly wrapped around the brown leather straps that she thinks is called reins. The horses are cleaner than they were yesterday and their manes shines in the bright sunlight. Both horses are wearing saddles that are tightly strapped around their rounded bellies.

She could recognize the two horses he is holding. The first one is the chestnut colored horse Zoey. Her black eyes glimmer in excitement and her ears prick happily.

The other horse Finn's holding is his horse, the beautiful black one. Flicka, she remembers as he approaches her with the horses walking beside him.

"It's nice to see you again, Tiny Rachel." he says and Rachel rolls her eyes. "Are you ready to go riding?"

Rachel exhales deeply. "Where the hell is Jennie? I thought she was going to be the one teaching me." she says, glaring a little. Finn smiles a cute crooked grin. "Well Tiny, it certainly looks like your plans have been changed. Jennie had to run some errands down in the city and she will probably not be back before dinner. So she asked me to help you."

Rachel whimpers a little under her breath. Great, now she's stuck with Mr. Sunshine the Cowboy. Her day can't really become better. "So, are you ready to ride?" he asks again.

Rachel sighs. "So ready I can be, I guess. Come on." She grabs Zoey's reins, assuming that Finn is going to ride Flicka, and begins to walk towards the outside sand arena. She wants to ask why they can't be inside the first time, it seems a lot safer to land on somewhat soft ground instead of hard, gritty sand. But she decides not to, she doesn't want to seem weak and wimpy, especially not in front of the ray of sunshine called Finn.

When she stands in the arena that is surrounded by a neat white fence, Finn comes back from leaving Flicka in the paddock and hands Rachel a black riding helmet. The outside of the helmet is soft like velvet and black as the night. The inside is made of soft red cloth. She looks up to see Finn throwing his cowboy hat off his head and replacing it with another helmet. He smiles at her as he walks towards her. "You look like you need some help." he says smiling and takes the helmet from her.

To her own surprise she only nods. No pissed off Rachel telling him that she can do it by herself, in the worst kind of way. Maybe it's because he looks really good in a riding helmet, or the fact that she has completely fallen in love with that cute smile of his.

Slowly, Finn places the helmet on her head. She feels how gentle his fingers are when they buckle the straps under her jaw. She looks up into his warm whiskey eyes, and she can feel herself melt into them and...

"So, how 'bout we get you on one of those horses?"

The spell breaks as he speaks and Rachel shakes her head a little. Wow, that was all kinds of weird. But she straightens her back and approaches Zoey. "Of course." she says and pulls down the stirrups before she puts her left foot in the left stirrup as she grabs the saddle for support. She can hear Finn say "Hey, maybe I should help you with that, it's kind of hard..." but she's already about to hoist herself up in the saddle. And to everybody's surprise, she does it without a problem and without help.

Rachel feels really tall where she now sits on Zoey, and in a way it's scary but in a weird way it also feels exciting and familiar. She notices how Finn let out a surprised laugh, and that laugh makes her want to melt into a puddle. "Wow, you fixed that excellently. Are you sure that you haven't been sitting on a horse before?"

She nods and he grins before he walks up to her and Zoey. "Okay Rachel, let's begin with the basics. To make your horse walk you just press your heels against her belly and she will begin to walk. To steer her you just tug at the rein gently in the direction you want to turn. To make a halt, just tug the reins backwards with both hands." He grabs her hands to show how she has to hold the reins and Rachel feels a shot of electricity shoot through her body. She stiffens a little under his touch but he doesn't seem to notice, he just continues working with her hands so she holds the reins right.

"Try to make her walk now, Rachel." Finn says and let go of her hands. Rachel does as he tells her and lightly press her heels against Zoey's belly. She can feel the horse move beneath her and her body stiffens again. She has seen people get thrown off horses on TV and it's not a delightful sight.

But after a couple of laps inside the arena she slowly but safely begins to relax where she sits on the horse back. This isn't so hard, she thinks and smiles proudly. She can see Finn standing in the corner of the arena, smiling at her. "Good work, Rachel!" he shouts out as she rides by. "Now come here and halt in front of me."

Rachel steers Zoey so she walks towards Finn and she easily makes her halt in front of Finn, who stands with his arms crossed over his broad and muscular chest. "That was really good, Rachel." he says. Rachel smiles confidently.

"Okay, so now we're gonna try to trot. To get Zoey to trot you just kick with both feet. I'm also gonna teach you how to do the rising trot. Rising trot basically means that you sit down in the saddle every other step and stand up every other step. You're back has to be straight but at the same time you have to be very relaxed. Shall we try it?"

Rachel nods, the proud smile still plastered on her face. "Yes, let's do this."

"Great. Also look at Zoey's shoulders if you're insecure about when to rise or when to sit. When her shoulders go forward you rise and when they go back you sit."

Rachel nods again, trying to process all the new information she just got. Rachel does as Finn says and soon she gets Zoey to trot. The first thing she realizes is how bumpy it is. She's trying to do as Finn said, the rise thing but it just won't work. Mostly because she's bumping here and there and when her helmet falls down over her eyes, she panics. She accidentally drops the reins and her feet falls out from the stirrups, flying free. The only sound she can hear is her heart thumping loudly in her ears and she actually thinks that she's about to die, or at least get seriously injured.

But suddenly everything just stops. It doesn't feel like she's fallen off or something, so that has to be good. She can feel how someone grabs her helmet and carefully lifts it from her eyes. The first thing she sees is Finn. He's got a small smile on his face, but it doesn't really reach his eyes. No, his beautiful eyes look concerned and a little bit worried. Could he be worried about her? She could not remember the last time someone showed any kind of feeling towards her that wasn't something that looked like hate (well, except for her dads, but they don't count). But this boy actually looked worried about her, and it actually felt good to have someone else than her dads that cares about her.

"Are you okay?" he asks softly. Rachel shakes her head no and not until now she really feels the shock from the, maybe not so big but big enough for her, event. "Come on, let me help you down." he says and grabs her by her waist and once again she feels this electricity flood from where his hands touches her. He carefully lifts her off the horse, his strength amazes her a little bit. Sure, she's not that big, only 5'2 tall, weighing 125 pounds, but she would still be hard for him to lift with only his arms.

He sets her down on the ground and the first thing she does (besides taking Zoey's reins in a firm grip) is hugging him. She can feel how his muscular arms wrap around her in return. She is surprised by how much she likes it. She has never really hugged a person before, not even her dads. She has never really liked physical contact, that was at least what she thought. But the feeling of his arms around her, she resting against his broad chest wasn't so bad. It was better than not so bad, it was great. She whispers a small 'thank you' before she pulls away from him. She immediately misses the warmth of his arms, even though it is around 80 degrees outside in the sun.

"So Rachel, do you want to take a short ride in the forest? I mean we don't have to but I would actually prefer it, since I tacked Flicka up and I put on this silly helmet." he says and blushes a little. Rachel smiles. "Then why did you put it on if you think it's silly? You knew you weren't going to ride until at least I was done."

He chuckles as he looks down at his boots. "Honestly I don't know." he looks up at her again. "But how 'bout we just go for a quick ride? Please?"

He looks at her, with eyes that reminds her of a puppy's and for some bizarre reason she can't resist them, even though she nearly had a near death experience. "Okay, but we must only walk."

He smiles brightly, looking so young. "Of course. Come on."

He begins to walk out of the arena, picking up his hat on the way. Rachel pulls up the stirrups before she follows him with Zoey in a tight grip. She looks at him as he jogs towards the paddock where Flicka is grazing. Rachel never thought that she would say this about anybody except herself, but she has to admit that Finn is perfect. Prince Charming number one. He's nice and caring and extremely handsome. And now when she thinks about it, she want him to be hers.

When she enters the paddock she sees that Finn has already changed Flicka's halter to a bridle, ready to ride. He is just done tightening the girth when he sees Rachel. "Are you ready?" she asks as Finn grabs Flicka's reins. He nods. "Yup. Let's go."

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**A/N2: Hey guys! Update! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I actually think that it turned out pretty good, I mean I don't really know much about horses, only the basics because I'm interested about horses and I would really like to take riding lessons if my parents would let me. Anyways, I hope that I spelled most of it right and got the right words into the right place. If I didn't, please tell me. **

**Thank you to everyone who reviews, favorites and follows. I really appreciate the support!  
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**Please review! You know you want to!  
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**Until next time!  
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